Somebody once asked me a peculiar question, “What is the single most effective thing I could do to lose weight?” Have you ever made too many keystrokes at one time on an old computer? Yeah… I have too! It freezes up, right? Oh wait. Do you have a Mac? I guess Mac users don’t know what I’m talking about here.
Anyhow, I hate that question. To me, it’s like asking, “What is the single most important thing I can do for my child?” Or, “What is the single most important thing I can do for my spouse.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t look at my conditioning this way. I don’t raise my kids this way, and I don’t take this approach with my spouse.
Of course, there are things that are more important and will have a more profound affect, but nothing by itself is enough to be done alone… not with kids, and not with your spouse either.
So, after I was able to reboot my brain from that question, I was able to generate an answer. I said, “Nothing.” He gave me that same look when your dog hears an interesting new sound and cocks his head sideways, with ears perked. I continued, “You’re better off just utilizing that time for something else, such as checking more email or just working a little later, BECAUSE… unless you’re fully committed to changing your lifestyle, you will be unsuccessful.”
The next few moments reminded me of an old Clint Eastwood movie where Clint and the villain are staring eye to eye. I seriously thought, the gentleman that just walked through the door for information regarding his kids and martial arts, was about to do an about-face and walk out the door. He wasn’t even there for information on himself! Instead, he signed up for 20 private training sessions, and he and his wife were great clients for the next 3 years.
Without risking you saying to me right now, “Are you feeling lucky… PUNK?” (Clint Eastwood line) I will list several things you can do over the course of the next 3 months to drop fat and inches.
1. Follow the 80/20 rule with activity throughout the day. Be moving for 80% of your day, and either sitting or relaxing for 20%. You desk job folks… sit on an exercise ball. It will work your core and improve your posture while a chair actually allows you to literally decompose* into the fabric (*not really, but close). I guarantee, if you have been struggling with fat loss, you can find a direct correlation to your activity level.
2. Eat often! In fact, make it 5 or even 6 times per day. The more often you eat, the more you program your system to understand that food is in abundance, therefore kicking your metabolism into high gear.
3. Eat your palm. Well, not really your palm, but actually a palm sized portion. Yes, you ought to eat 5 or even 6 times per day, but your meals should be really small. We’re talking palm sized. Now, you have two palms. This means, one palm contains your protein, and the other palm contains your carbs. New to all this? Proteins are found in- fish, chicken, pork, beef, etc. Carbs are found in- fruits, vegetables, breads, grain, pasta, etc. One important note on carbs- don’t slip up and over eat them if you opt for breads and pasta. If you want the best improvement, stick with vegetables and limit your breads and pasta.
4. Drink, a lot! I’m not talking beer or wine, either. I mean water! Take your weight, and then call it ounces. Then, divide that number by 2. That is how many ounces you should drink throughout the day. In other words, if you weigh 150, then you would drink 75 ounces of water a day.
5. Pursue your goals with like minded individuals. Successful business people attend meetings with other business people. Alcoholics trying to recover, join AA. My point is, when everyone has similar goals, the group tends to be more successful. For our students, we have The Ultimate Body Challenge- http://www.FreeKarateLesson.com/weight-loss.html
This is not an exhaustive list. In fact, it’s the tip of the iceburg. On the other hand, it’s five items that would make a considerable impact on your life.
If you have any questions about some of the things you could be doing to reach your fitness goals, send me an email or call me at 208.381.0587.
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
Chief Master Instructor
The Academy of World Taekwondo
Ph: 208.381.0587
http://www.FreeKarateLesson.com/weight-loss.html
Monday, March 15, 2010
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